Lee Common School PTA

Advice for Lice (not that they listen)

You've probably read in the bookbags about lice being at the school, but worry not, there are solutions. For those new at the school you will probably not have read the article published a while ago that set out advice should your children begin to bug you with the scratching...

So, keep long hair tied up, check every day, and you can use products preventatively too. Here is the article again, with one extra piece of information - you can now get the nitty gritty comb mentioned at Sainsbury's in Chesham, for something over £9.00.

Down to the Nitty Gritty
"You have to leave - now..." A few months ago with this ritual wording we joined a most secret society as the nurse very quickly directed my shocked wife to the street.

"Well, that's it. I just can't believe it." I heard through my mobile. "Did you get it?" I asked. "No, it's not available on prescription" came the reply. "Oh yes, it is. Did you give her the numbers..."

Devised by three mothers reluctant to use chemicals, Nitty Gritty aromatherapy solution is free from organophosphates and pesticides. It contains just natural ingredients.

Having spent twenty minutes on the Internet "I heard it on the radio, you can only get it on the Internet..." I'd read far too much for my own peace of mind (I'm used like a giant Internet filter) and sifted out the right information. There is a nit comb (well actually, THE nit comb) available on prescription by Nurse prescribers, prescribing health visitors and pharmacists, as well as doctors:

It is listed in Section IX A of the NHS Drug Tariff In the Appliance section under sub-category: Head Lice Device, Nitty Gritty NitFree steel nit comb with micro-grooved teeth. The PIP Code is 294 6366.

A nit comb is no good without smelly stuff to put in your hair, but if you think napalm is the way to go you are probably a little behind the times.

We used the Nitty Gritty Aromatherapy Head Lice Kit, which comes with a plastic nit comb (no comparison to the NitFree steel, but useful as a 'line them all up or it's gonna hurt' comb before you bring out the real deal).

It takes a week to ten days to be truly free, but with two applications each and a hell of a lot of combing bringing us closer to our simian ancestory we are a happier, contented family. With very shiny hair.

Save a little time. Go to Nitty Gritty Aromatherapy Head Lice Products and get what you might need. Sensitivity warning: There's a picture of an ugly bug on that page.

Save even more time - get it where I got it - the solution that is. Where? Where else.
Garlicks Chemists. For all your creepy little bloodsuckers...

Help with the Cost of Childcare

The latest issue of The Motley Fool reports that the Daycare Trust has released its 2008 Childcare Costs Survey, and it makes for worrying reading...yet again, the costs of sending a child to day care has risen at a rate far exceeding the rate of inflation.

...while on the one hand the government is trying to persuade parents to combine working with bringing up a family, it hasn't created a great number of ways to help.

The Daycare Trust has called upon the government to extend the offer of free early years places to two-year-olds and increase the number of hours per week to 20, as well as to subsidise after-school activities for 11-14 year olds from lower income families, eventually making them free.

In the meantime, The Motley Fool's report rounds up of some of the help available now.

Tax Credits
For a family income below £58,175 per year (£66,350 if you have a child under one) you may be able to claim Child Tax Credits or Working Tax Credits.

Free Part-Time Early Years Places
This scheme is available to all three and four-year-olds and gives up to 12.5 hours (increasing to 15 hours in 2010) of childcare for free, for 38 weeks of the year.

Childcare Vouchers Scheme
An Employer's scheme which allows parents to sacrifice some of their gross salary in return for "vouchers" that can be used to pay for childcare. The first £55 each week (£243 each month) can be bought free of tax or national Insurance, meaning a lower rate taxpayer could save around £962 per year, and a higher rate taxpayer around £1,195.

You can also go to the DirectGov Childcare website to investigate the help and entitlements available.

Meeting of the LCSA Committee

The first LCSA committee meeting of 2008 was on Tuesday. Many committee members didn't make it, so here are edited highlights.

Events
The Christmas Fair figures were presented and year on year this event grows in profitability, so well done to everyone involved. By the way, if you would like more teatowels you'll need to speak to your friends; raise an order for 50 and we can reorder. Next year's fair is booked for Saturday 29th December, and it was agreed that Mr Marvel (Lee) should be hired as the entertainer.

Quiz Night is tomorrow with the bar open at 7.30pm, an 8.30pm start to the quiz, and your Fish and Chip Supper at 9.30pm. Don't forget to bring crockery, ketchup and nibbles. By the way, the 2009 Quiz Night can go in your diary now, it's Saturday 24th January.

There's a Mum's Night Out on Tuesday 18th March - don't worry, just a light supper.

Not until Sunday 27th April do you get official LCSA approved exercise to work off those two suppers and prospect of a third, in the form of the Bluebell Walk, presuming bluebells. The date might move if the bluebells aren't out, but there will be a children's raffle, certificates for those children that complete the walk, and a barbecue. There will be a choice of walk, and nearer the date we will be asking for help - erm, including the loan of a couple of gas barbecues to cook on... pretty please.

If you'd rather watch than walk, then have your cake and eat it with a nice cup of tea, at the Maypole Dancing on May Day, Thursday 1st May at the school. In addition to tea and cakes, it was suggested that such events might raise funds through the sale of handcrafted gifts made by the children, ice creams for the children, and, ominously, fun games requiring teacher participation. More on that last one later...

The meeting agreed that no fund raising events would be held in the summer due to the success of the Christmas Fair and commitments of many parents to the annual village Church Fete and Flower Show.

Money
The school provides a wish list for funding by the LCSA, and under this section the meeting agreed that the LCSA should fund:

1. flourescent jackets / tabards
2. School ID wristbands
3. Stage blocks
4. Videos to DVD
5. Science Resources
6. Shed
7. Crockery and linen

School trips are still to be funded by the LCSA but parents will be told the cost so they can opt to pay for their children, allowing LCSA funds to be used elsewhere. It is hoped that more parents would opt to pay than not.

The meeting agreed that the LCSA shouldn't fund the Swallow's swimming lessons, but instead provide a top-up fund to be allocated by the school at their discretion in cases of need. The reasoning was that instead of benefiting one year group, LCSA funds should benefit all children at the school.

Should classroom redecoration be funded at all by the LCSA rather than County? This question was raised at the meeting, and clarification over seemingly high per-room redecoration estimates is being sought.

Other items of note
School Leaver's dictionaries are being researched and costed, and arrangements for maintaining and updating the school emergency phone trees for all years are being put in place.

Parking at the school out of hand? Guidelines have been drafted to help alleviate problems, including maps to show restricted areas, and the Parish Council are going to be approached with a view to adding signage and road lining. When complete, the guidelines will be submitted to the school for approval before distribution to parents.

The School Prospectus and New Parent Guide is nearly complete, and will include the parking rules. After its submission to the school and Governors for approval it will be published on the school website.

Next Time
Well, that's it. The next committee meeting is on Tuesday April 1st. No honestly, it really is, I promise there will be people there. If you want your voice to be heard, come along at to the school at 8 o'clock in the evening.

Guidance for a leave of absence

To Ski, or not to Ski: that is the question...

The School has recently distributed guidelines regarding taking a child out of school during term time, so here they are in case you missed them in the book bags, along with a link to some background information that explains the legal obligations that Local Authorities, Schools and Parents must operate under.

Now, where did I put that great big, heavy, link? Ah, here it is... School attendance and truancy: the law

And here are Lee Common School's guidelines as issued:

• All children are required by law to attend school every day during term time. There is no 'entitlement' to any time off during the term time.
• Only schools are allowed to authorise any absence.
• Permission cannot be granted for more than ten school days in any one year.
• The school may authorise any reasonable request for absence, especially those on compassionate grounds.
• The school cannot normally authorise single day absences, unless there are exceptional circumstances.
• All absence requests should be made at least one month in advance using the request form available from the school office. This should be accompanied by a covering letter addressed to the Head teacher.

Of course, one could make a radical bid for freedom from location ties and opt for home schooling. If that feels too steep a slippery slope, this article from the BBC shows term-time holidays under review back in 2005. Clearly, the Government felt then that parents were taking the piste a little too often...

LCSA Teatowels 2007

You've missed the chance to have an army of little children help with the drying up over Christmas.

Featuring self-portraits by the children, all this 'help' could have been yours for less than a fiver.
But we're all sold out!

LCSA Christmas Cards 2007

If you missed the opportunity to buy the LCSA Christmas cards earlier, you can still order some online here.

At £2.50 for 5, they still represent great value, and they will be available to pick up from the school after you order.

Online Payment Processing

For the longest time there has been a poll sitting on the site asking if people would prefer to pay online for tickets to LCSA events, for the Christmas cards, the traditional gifts made by the children, donations and all the other fund-raising activities the LCSA engages in.

Well, Now you can.

The LCSA can now take credit and debit cards and paypal funds for everything. In advance. With no running round to chase up. And all with stock control (you can't sell what you haven't got).

Goodness, at what cost!? I hear those of you who have a merchant account yourselves saying...

1. The cart software - no charge.
2. Google Checkout - no commission, no standing charge, no transaction charge until 2008.
3. PayPal - reduced costs with paypal (charitable status), 1.4% + 20p (that's per transaction).

So, try it out. Buy your LCSA Christmas Cards online.

Local Resources

EXTENT OPEN

Lee Common Church of England School
Oxford Street, Lee Common
Great Missenden, Bucks
HP16 9JH tel: 01494 837267

Driving directions from:

GREEN V

Ballinger Memorial Hall
Ballinger Common
Great Missenden, Bucks
HP16 9LQ tel: 01494 837379

Driving directions from:

GREY P

The Cock and Rabbit
The Lee, Great Missenden
Buckinghamshire HP16 9LZ
tel: 01494 837540

Driving directions from:

YELLOW S

South Heath Stores & P.O.
Ballinger Rd, South Heath
Great Missenden HP16 9QJ
tel: 01494 862588

Driving directions from:

YELLOW S

Garlicks Chemists
67 The Broadway, High St
Chesham HP5 1DD
tel: 01494 782968

Driving directions from:

GREEN V

The Lee Parish Hall
Lee Common
HP16 9NB
Karel Lewis (Bookings Secretary)
tel: 01494 837344

Driving directions from:

GREY P

The Pheasant
Ballinger Common
HP16 9LF
tel: 01494 837236

Driving directions from:

GREEN V

St. John the Baptist
The Lee, Great Missenden
Buckinghamshire, HP16 9NB
Judy Hart (The Lee PCC)
tel: 01494 837328

Driving directions from:

GREY P

The Old Swan
Swan Lane, The Lee
Great Missenden, Bucks
HP16 9NB tel: 01494 837239

Driving directions from:

GREEN V

Willows Farm Village
Coursers Rd, London Colney
St. Albans, AL2 1BB
tel: 01727 822 444
www.willowsfarmvillage.com

Driving directions from:

Hands up then, who knows where the Lee Common School is?

Of course you do, but you can send an email to leave details of locations you would like to be put on the map.

Pubs	Venues	Stores
Cock and Rabbit	Ballinger Hall	South Heath Stores
The Pheasant	The Lee Parish Hall	Garlicks Chemists
The Old Swan	St. John the Baptist
	Willows Farm Village

Attenshun! Mufti Day Alert.

Rally the troops, look through your bottom drawer and take action! Mufti day is Friday 24th November.

A fun day that the children love, they get to leave their uniforms at home and wear something altogether more groovy.

What's the catch? In exchange for the pupils wearing 'civvies' parents are asked to donate items that are suitable for Gift Alley. Next to a trip to Santa's Grotto, Gift Alley is probably the most popular room visited by the children at the Christmas Fair.

Why? Because they get to pick a present for someone they love, all by themselves.

Things to remember when giving your Gift Alley donations:

• Include only those items that you feel you would like to be given as a gift.
• Items should be new and unused.
• Fathers and grandfathers are particularly difficult to cater for so it would be great to receive items suitable to them.
• No alcohol for gift alley please.

Please give as many items as you are able - an average of three per child is needed.

Chutney, Mary?

Here are two more chutney recipes for your collection, both are what could be called the 'bung-it-all-in' variety, super easy and once allowed to mature, very delicious.

Mulled spice chutney

This wonderfully evocative chutney has a warm spice flavour that is superb on cold turkey sandwiches. For extra punch add a little cayenne or a few dried chilli flakes.

Makes 1.4 kg ( 3 lb)

• 900g ( 2 lb ) cooking apples, peeled, cored and chopped
• 450g (16 oz ) Soft brown sugar
• 425 ml ( ¾ pint ) red wine vinegar
• 140g ( 5 oz ) Dates
• 140g ( 5 oz ) Sultanas
• 50g ( 2 oz ) Preserved ginger, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp Freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tsp Juniper berries, crushed
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 8 cloves
• 2 oranges finely grated zest and juice

1. Place all ingredients into a large non-corrosive pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and slowly simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally, until very thick and dark.
2. Pack into hot sterilized jars.

Allow to mature for 4 weeks before eating.

Apple and lemon pickle

Packed into small jars this lively chutney is perfect with dry crumbly cheeses. The onions and sultanas can be chopped in a food processor.

Makes 2.7 kg / 6 lb

• 1.4 kg ( 3 lb ) Apples, peeled, cored, diced
• 1.4 kg ( 3 lb ) Onions, finely chopped
• 450g ( 1 lb ) Sultanas or seedless raisins, minced
• 4 Lemons  zest, finely grated and juice
• 700g ( 1½ lb ) Light brown sugar
• 600 ml ( 1 pint) Cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp whole mustard seeds, lightly toasted.

1. Place all ingredients into a heavy based pan, bring to a boil, reduce to a very low heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until very thick - approximately 3 hours.
2. Pack the chutney into jars.

Mature for 4 weeks before eating.